MCAA and ASHRAE will provide technical
assistance to a new energy-saving renovation campaign organized by former
President Bill Clinton.
The Mechanical Contractors Association of American and the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers will
provide technical assistance to a new energy-saving renovation campaign
organized by former President Bill Clinton.
“MCAA views our work with the program as a great opportunity
to show the world what mechanical contractors can do to help solve one of the
most pressing issues of our time,” said MCAA President David J. Kruse.
The William J. Clinton Foundation announced the Energy
Efficiency Building Retrofit May 16 at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in
New York City. Financed by worldwide banks and backed by four well-known
climate control manufacturers, Clinton’s project hopes to cut carbon emissions,
reduce energy use and save money on utilities in existing city-owned buildings
in 16 cities around the world.
“Climate change is a global problem that requires local
action,” Clinton said at a press conference that day. “The businesses, banks
and cities partnering with my foundation are addressing the issue of global
warming because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s good for
their bottom line. They’re going to save money, make money, create jobs and
have a tremendous collective impact on climate change all at once.”
Many of the responsibilities that the MCAA and ASHRAE will
offer are still being considered, but both associations will likely offer
design expertise and training programs to do the needed work.
The program, a project of the Clinton Climate Initiative,
brings together Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Siemens, and Trane, which will
each compete to conduct energy audits of city-owned and private buildings. The
companies will also guarantee the energy savings that will come from the
retrofit projects that they manage.
In North America, the initial cities will be Chicago,
Houston, New York City, Toronto, and Mexico City. Other cities around the world
are Bangkok, Berlin, Delhi, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Melbourne, Mumbai,
Sao Paulo, Seoul, and Tokyo.
The cities will put up their own buildings for retrofit in
order to streamline permit requirements and provide incentives for private
building owners to do the same.
Banking partners ABN AMRO,
Citi, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and UBS have each committed to arrange $1
billion in financing for the program. The financing will be repaid from the
energy savings that the retrofit projects will achieve.
Clinton’s foundation said
much of retrofit work has the potential to reduce energy use by as much as 50%.
“ASHRAE is in the
best position to provide immediate support to the cities seeking guidance
through the Clinton Climate Initiative due to our 30-year involvement in design
guidance for energy conservation for both new and existing buildings,” said
ASHRAE President Terry Townsend.
ASHRAE is currently working to provide energy
guidance in existing buildings through its Advanced Energy Design Guide series.
This existing buildings guide, developed in collaboration with the Illuminating
Engineering Society of North America and the U.S. Green Building Council with
participation by BOMA and the U.S. General Service Administration, will show
building owners how they can initially reduce their energy consumption by 30%.
It is tentatively scheduled to be available in fall 2008.
May 18, 2007 - MCAA and ASHRAE Sign On To Clinton Energy-Saving Plan
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